BEIJING – Hong Kong has suspended the importation of chicken meat, eggs and other poultry products from the state of Guanajuato in Mexico due to outbreaks of bird flu.

Hong Kong’s Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said on Thursday in a statement on its website that the ban will be implemented “with immediate effect.”

The decision was made after a notification from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) about outbreaks of H7N3 “highly pathogenic” virus strain in the region.

Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety said it has contacted Mexican authorities about the problem and will monitor information issued by the OIE on outbreaks of bird flu.

“The appropriate actions will be carried out in response to the development of the situation,” a spokesman said.

Hong Kong has a protocol to import poultry from Mexico, but not for eggs.

During the first three months of 2019, Mexican poultry meat was not imported into Hong Kong, according to official data.

It is not the first time that the autonomous region of China has taken this measure, in March 2018 an outbreak of the same strain in Guanajuato and Queretaro caused the suspension of the importation of meat and poultry products, in order to protect public health in the city.

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